The purpose of this qualitative research is to provide an in-depth exploration of the impact that a diagnosis of a terminal illness has on family functioning. The goal is to gain insight into adult children's personal experience when a parent is diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. This study explores how families respond, adapt and cope when this specific family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness. It also explores any significant changes in relationships within the family and any shifts in the roles of the members and how they adjusted to such shifts. / The study is informed by a phenomenological paradigm and used an explorative, qualitative design, which included semi-structured interviews. Participant text and "found poetry" is used in order to present a more accurate account of the participants' experiences. Found poetry provides an opportunity to hear the participant's voices by taking direct quotes from their transcripts and forming them into a poem. Themes of denial, anger, helplessness, hope and anticipatory grief/mourning are portrayed in the findings of this study. The difficult emotional dilemmas and tensions that people have to work through when faced with a family member dying are discussed. The realization of the loss of future relationships will be identified as one of the greatest impacts of the illness. This study shows the lack of professional supports and resources that are available for each participant's family in being faced with the diagnosis of a terminal illness, and will address a needed consideration for social work practice.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (AAC))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / Unrestricted

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Despite a remarkable need and demand for services, little is known about the family relationships of children with social competency disorders (SCD), defined in this study as children with Asperger’s Disorder and nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD). Both children with Asperger’s Disorder and children with NVLD exhibit social skill deficits essential to building and maintaining relationships. These social competency impairments are thought to be related to similarities in their neuropsychological profiles. The low prevalence rates of these conditions and the neuropsychological and behavioral similarities supports the combination of Asperger’s Disorder and NVLD as a “social competency disorders” group for purposes of research. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) have been found to be highly comorbid in children with SCD, and were included in this study as clinical control group. The purpose of this study was to examine the relational functioning in the families of children with social competency deficits across different parts of the family system. It was hypothesized that the social competency deficits in children with SCD would result in significantly lower levels of relational functioning across the parent-child subsystem, parenting subsystem and whole family level of the family. Sixty-one children between the ages of 8-12 and their mothers participated in this study. Children were assigned to the SCD, ADHD or typically developing group based on pre-determined criteria. Self-report measures of interpersonal functioning in the parent-child relationship, strength of parenting alliance in the parental relationship and social support in the whole family were collected and compared across the three groups. As predicted, mothers of children with SCD reported significantly higher levels of dysfunction in the parent-child subsystem as compared to mothers of typically developing children; however, no significant differences in parent-child dysfunction were found between the SCD and the ADHD group. Contrary to the hypotheses proposed in this study, the SCD group showed no significant group differences on measures of parenting alliance and social support in the whole family. This study reveals the importance of intervention in the parent-child relationship in these families, and the need for additional research using longitudinal, multi-modal and multiple informant designs. / text

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Families of people with schizophrenia often experience difficult challenges when it comes to dealing with this illness. Contemporary researchers suggest that families often take on the task of caring for their ill relatives with limited resources and support. Mental health professionals often fail to include the families in the treatment of their relatives. Although psychoeducation has been shown to be an important process that helps not only the families but relatives as well, mental health professionals commonly do not involve families in such activities. This study explored the experiences of families of people with schizophrenia and their subsequent contact with mental health professionals, as well as their understanding of schizophrenia as a mental disorder. To this end, a small sample of 10 families (four Xhosa speaking families as well as six Coloured families) was drawn in the Western Cape area on a convenience basis. In each case a family caregiver was interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were content analyzed. The findings of the study indicate that families find it difficult to deal with their ill relatives. Families often experience stigma-related incidents because of their relatives. They feel isolated and alone. Families often yearn to receive more information about the illness of their relatives. Also, the contact between mental health professionals and families was reported to be minimal at best. Family members reported that mental health professionals do not include them in the treatment process. Recommendations for further research and practice are made. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die families van mense met skisofrenie kom moeilike uitdagings teë op hul pad met hierdie versteuring. Hedendaagse navorsers vind dat die families gereeld die verantwoordelikheid aanneem om na die siek familielid om te sien met beperkte hulpbronne en ondersteuning. Geestesgesondheidswerkers sluit dikwels nie die families in by die behandeling van hul familielede nie. Alhoewel psigo-opvoeding as 'n belangrike proses erken word, wat nie net die families nie, maar ook die siek familielid help, word dit nie in die praktyk toegepas deur geestesgesondheidwerkers nie. Hierdie studie verken die ervaringe van die families van mense met skisofrenie en hul daaropvolgende kontak met geestesgesondheid werkers, asook hul begrip van skisofrenie as ’n versteuring. Heirvoor is ’n klein steekproef (vier Xhosa-sprekende asook ses Kleurling families) geneem in die Wes-Kaap op ’n gerieflikheidsbasis. In elke geval is ’n semigestruktureerde onderhoud gevoer met ’n familie versorger. Die data is geanaliseer volgens inhoud. Die bevindinge van die studie dui aan dat families dit moeilik vind om hul siek familielede te hanteer. Families ervaar dikwels stigma as gevolg van hul siek familielede. Hulle voel geïsoleerd en alleen. Families smag dikwels daarna om inligting te bekom oor die versteuring van hul familielede. Verder is die kontak tussen families en geestesgesondheidswerkers minimaal ten beste van tye. Families rapporteer dat geestesgesondheid werkers hulle as families nie by die behandelingsproses insluit nie. Voorstelle vir verdure navorsing en die praktyk word gemaak.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

One of the purposes of the study was to obtain information on how family members' perceptions of the family's homeostasis changes over time as the family passes from a crisis period through a transition phase from a wet (drinking) to a dry (non-drinking) state. In addition, the study examined the impact that changes in the family system may have on maintaining a dry state after the completion of an alcoholism treatment program that involved family members. Twenty families participated in the study. Family members completed instruments that measured family cohesion, adaptability, dynamics, satisfaction, and family/social functioning at three different measurement occasions. Those measurement occasions were at the beginning (Time 1) and completion (Time 2) of a family treatment program for alcoholism, and at a month follow-up (Time 3). The primary test for each hypothesis was a repeated measures analysis of variance where the within subject factor was the measurement occasions (Time). In general, the results of the study suggested that a month follow-up, the families were still in a disrupted state of homeostasis as reflected in the scores for adaptability, cohesion, and dynamics. However, the findings of the study indicated that the families were more satisfied with the family system at the time of follow-up than at the beginning of a family program. In addition, family members reported being more involved in activities with each other at the follow-up period than at the start of a family program.

Although there are many instruments available to assess patient adaptation to cancer, there are few instruments which can be used to assess family members of cancer patients' adaptation to cancer. The present study was conducted to determine the internal structure and factor reliability estimates of a new instrument, the Family Adaptation to Medical ILLness Inventory (FAMILLI). The analysis of the FAMILLI was conducted using respondents (N=139) with family members of cancer. Respondents' ages ranged from 18 to 70 and many types of cancer, such as lung, breast, colorectal, prostate, brain, and cervical, were represented. The study was conducted in two phases, the pilot study and the major investigation.During the pilot study, respondents from a midwestern university setting and the oncology department at a midwestern hospital (N=28) completed the FAMILLI and participated in feedback groups. The pilot study helped to refine the demographic information sheet and to reduce the number of questions on the FAMILLI from 55 to 35 questions. In addition, interesting demographic questions were added to the demographics forms.The major study (N= 117) was conducted to test the initial factor structure of the FAMILLI and to test convergent and discriminant validity. A principal components extraction yielded a six factor solution which was judged best in terms of statistical structure and theoretical parsimony. The six factors to emerge were 1) factor one, "personal needs," 2) factor two, "attitudes toward leisure and work activities," 3) factor three, "anger and blame," 4) factor four, "receiving support," 5) factor five, "seeking medical information," and 6) factor six, "family responsibilities."Convergent and discriminant validity were tested using the Cancer Behavior Inventory (CBI-B) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). It was hypothesized that the FAMILLI would demonstrate convergent validity with the CBI-B. Four of the six factors (factors 2, 3, 4, and 5) significantly correlated with the CBI-B. The SWLS was used to test discriminant validity. Five of the six factors (factors 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) correlated significantly with the SWLS. Thus, the FAMILLI did not demonstrate discriminant validity with an instrument used to measure global assessment of quality of life. Further research is needed to test the reliability and validity of the FAMILLI. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

M.A. / In this study an attempt is made to understand the phenomenological experience of girls in late adolescence who have had eating disorders, as well as the family dynamics that form part of this disorder. A developmental perspective regarding adolescence is discussed in this study. Eating disorders as a construct and the family of origin are broadly discussed in the literature chapter. Phenomenological research procedures are used to investigate three participants’ experience of eating disorders and their family of origin. Themes and sub themes that stood out in this study have been formulated and discussed. These main themes are the following: identity; emotionality; friendship relationships; compulsive behavior regarding food, body and weight; medical factors due to eating disorders; academic performance and competition; possible triggers for eating disorders; family factors; family patterns; family communication, and the road to recovery. The value of this study is illuminated. Some shortcomings of this study are recognized and suggestions for future research are made.

Research has consistently shown schizophrenics to perform significantly poorer than normal controls on commonly used measures of neuropsychological functioning. Research on the neuropsychological functioning of first-degree relatives of schizophrenics who do not themselves have schizophrenia is comparatively sparse but suggests the likelihood of deficits in this group as well. A battery of standard neuropsychological tests was administered to three groups: first-degree relatives of schizophrenics who do not themselves have schizophrenia (FDR-SCZ), first-degree relatives of persons with major depression and bipolar disorder (FDR-MOOD), and normal controls (NC). The FDRSCZ group was not found to demonstrate significantly impaired performance relative to the other two groups on any of the hypothesized or exploratory analyses. These implications of these findings are discussed with reference to previous studies and future research.